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Weekend ridership shows greatest progress; Sunday ridership exceeds pre-pandemic levels
In June, LA Metro saw its 19th consecutive month of year-over-year ridership growth with 25,181,475 boardings on its bus and rail services, reaching 85.5 percent of its June 2019 pre-COVID ridership level. With 18,792,300 boardings on weekdays, ridership reached 82.1 percent of its pre-pandemic levels. Weekends in June saw 6,389,175 boardings, reaching 97.7 percent of pre-pandemic weekend ridership from June 2019.
Weekend/Leisure Ridership
Metro helped Angelenos and visitors alike kick off the summer season, transporting riders to weekend concerts, parades, festivals and sporting events. Weekend ridership was up 32.2 percent over weekend ridership in June 2023 with combined bus and rail boardings reaching 97.7 percent of its June 2019 pre-pandemic level. Saturday boardings on bus and rail combined reached 94.6 percent of June 2019 levels, and on Sundays during the month, average combined boardings exceeded pre-pandemic levels achieving 101.6 percent of June 2019 levels.
As examples, on Saturday, June 8, Metro’s Chinatown Station serving the LA Pride in the Park Concert saw a 197 percent ridership increase compared to recent Saturdays. The following day, Sunday the Hollywood/Vine Station saw a 188 percent ridership increase, and the Hollywood/Highland Station had a 73 percent ridership increase as riders headed to the LA Pride Parade and Block Party. On Sunday, June 23, Metro’s K Line saw a 10 percent increase in ridership as riders headed to CicLAvia South LA driving a 5 percent ridership increase on the entire Metro system that day.
Bus Ridership
Bus ridership in June saw 19,531,545 rides taken for a 4.6 percent year-over-year ridership increase over June 2023 and reached 87.6 percent of its June 2019 level. Metro recorded 14,693,720 bus boardings on weekdays in June. Saturdays saw 2,629,060 boardings and Sundays had 2,208,765 boardings in June. Ridership on Metro’s Tier 1 bus lines, those lines that have 10-minute or better service all day on weekdays, and on the agency’s Tier 2 bus lines, those that have 12 – 15-minute or better service all day on weekdays, was particularly strong on weekdays in the San Fernando Valley. Weekday ridership on Line 164 (Victory Bl) rose 14 percent year-over-year, Line 152 (Roscoe Bl) rose 13 percent, and Lines 162 (Sherman Wy), 165 (Vanowen St), 166 (Canoga Av), and 224 (San Fernando Rd/Lankershim Bl) all rose 12 percent in June.
Rail Ridership
June rail boardings were 5,649,930, 79 percent of its June 2019 ridership, with 4,098,580 trips taken on weekdays. Total ridership on the A and E Lines is up 26.3 percent year-over-year when compared to the A, E, and L line configuration before the Regional Connector project was completed. The busiest rail line in June was the B Line with 1,868,890 boardings. The A Line was close behind with 1,841,530 trips taken.
Fare Programs
Metro continues to provide programs that make riding more affordable for everyone. The agency’s reduced-price transit pass programs, such as the student GoPass program, which offers free transit passes to K-12 and community college students, and its Low-Income Fare is Easy (LIFE) program, which provides free rides and reduced fares to low-income customers, are helping those who need it most.
In June, Metro’s GoPass Program that offers free transit passes to K-12 and community college students had 1,698,349 total boardings, a 23 percent increase over June 2023 (1,384,218). This month the GoPass street team participated in numerous events including PBS Summer Learning Day, Dodger Day at Belvedere Park, CicLAvia South LA, LA84 Day of Play and East LA Independence Day Celebration to share the free fare program with students.
The LIFE Program observed a 39 percent year-over-year increase in June 2024 ridership with 1,630,770 boardings compared to 1,172,996 in June 2023. During June the LIFE team held more than 75 in-person enrollment events to sign eligible people up for the reduced fare program.
Information on all Metro’s reduced fare programs, including discounts for seniors, persons with disabilities, and students, can be found at: metro.net/riding/fares/
Public Safety on Metro
In June, the Metro Board of Directors approved the establishment of the Transit Community Public Safety Department (TCPSD), an in-house department of personnel dedicated to Metro and its customers who understand the nuances of patrolling a transit system. This new, enhanced public safety model will be phased in over the next five years as Metro hires and prepares recruits with the training to manage societal issues like homelessness, untreated mental illness, and addiction, which fuel a large part of our public safety challenges.
The plan calls for a daily deployment of 386 law enforcement officers and increases the daily deployment of non-law enforcement unarmed personnel. It also allows for a $5 million investment in safety infrastructure initiatives. During the five-year phase in period, Metro will continue to work with outside law enforcement agencies, including the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department (LASD) and the Long Beach Police Department (LBPD) to keep Metro riders and employees safe and ensure a smooth transition over the next five years.
Meanwhile, Metro continues to increase its work to improve public safety with a three-point plan:
- Keep our employees and customers safe and ensure they feel safe through an increased visible presence of uniformed personnel, station improvements and improved bus safety measures;
- Ensure the system is being used only for its intended purpose of transit through fare gate improvements and removal of trespassers; and
- Continue to partner with the County, the Cities and Regional Agencies to address societal issues such as homelessness, untreated mental illness, drug addiction.
As part of this strategy, Metro’s law enforcement partners have expanded their visible presence on the rail system, and more Metro Transit Security (MTS) officers have been added to enforce Metro’s Customer Code of Conduct rules on both the bus and rail system. As part of the MTS surge, Metro Transit Security Bus Safety Teams (BSTs) performed end-of-line operations during late-night “Owl” service on some of the busiest bus lines. Metro Ambassadors are also out in force on Metro’s six rail lines and five of the busiest bus lines, to provide support to customers and keep a watchful eye out for problems.
About Metro
The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) is building the most ambitious transportation infrastructure program in the United States and is working to greatly improve mobility through its Vision 2028 Plan. Metro is the lead transportation planning and funding agency for L.A. County and carries nearly a million boardings daily on four light rail and two subway lines and 119 bus lines utilizing more than 2,000 low-emission buses.
Stay informed by following Metro on The Source and El Pasajero at metro.net, facebook.com/losangelesmetro, twitter.com/metrolosangeles and twitter.com/metroLAalerts and instagram.com/metrolosangeles.